Page 544 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

542  GERM AN Y , A USTRIA , AND SWITZERLAND

Shopping Shopping in Berlin
Although German cities all
Stores in Germany are generally of high quality but many boast shopping malls and every
products are not cheap. In Berlin, almost anything can be town has a shopping district
bought, so long as you know where to look; outside Berlin, popular with local residents,
you’ll discover that in many areas of the country, the tradition Berlin stands out with its choice
and quality of shops. If it is
of producing handicrafts and various types of folk art luxury you want, you must
continues. A visit to a local market could give you the chance head for the large stores
to buy a regional specialty to take home as a souvenir. The on the Kurfürstendamm,
vast shopping malls that are springing up in every large city Friedrichstraße, and Potsdamer
offer a wide choice of stores and top-quality brands. Platz, where all the major
fashion houses and perfume
makers have their stores.
Markets In Friesland and Schleswig in the Alternatively, if you want to
A weekly market, known as a north, marinated herrings and explore the smaller boutiques
Wochenmarkt, is held in many excellent cheeses are worth of lesser-known designers,
towns throughout Germany. In trying. The hams of Westphalia make your way to Berlin’s
smaller towns, stalls are set up have a well-deserved Hackescher Markt in the Mitte
in the market square, while in reputation, as do sausages from district, or to Prenzlauer Berg.
larger towns and cities, markets Braunschweig (Brunswick). Kaufhaus des Westens,
may be held in specially better known as KaDeWe in
designated squares in different Wittenbergplatz, is the biggest
neighborhoods. At these Gifts and Souvenirs and the best department store
markets, you can buy fresh Just about every region of in Berlin. Only products of the
fruit and vegetables, cheeses, Germany has something special highest quality are sold in these
and many everyday items. to offer. You could buy a beer luxurious halls, where virtually
Specialist fairs are often held stein from a beer hall, or a cuckoo everything you need is on sale –
at weekends – for example clock from the Black Forest, for from unusual perfumes and
Blumenmärkte, where flowers instance. If you are keen on elegant underwear to haute
are sold, or Kunstmärkte, where dressing up, traditional clothes couture, all sold in a system
artists and craftsmen display such as lederhosen and dirndl of stores-within-stores. The
their work for sale. skirts can be found in Bavaria. For food hall on the sixth floor is
Every large town also has children, handmade puppets and legendary for its restaurant
its Flohmarkt (fleamarket) marionettes are good gifts, while overlooking Tauentzienstrasse.
where, among the masses of in Nuremberg there is a wide Galeries Lafayette on
junk, pieces of amusing kitsch selection of toys. Don’t forget that Friedrichstraße is nothing less
and genuine antiques can German optical items such as than a slice of Paris placed in
sometimes be found. In Berlin, cameras, binoculars, and lenses the heart of Berlin. Its perfumes,
the Antik-und Trödelmarkt is are top quality and may be household items, and clothing
worth a visit. cheaper than at home. attract an enormous clientele,
In Munich, there is a famous many of whom also visit the
market specializing in crafts, food counter, which offers a
antiques, and hardware called Alcoholic Drinks wide range of French specialties.
Auer Dult. This is held during Renowned German beers are An extraordinary glass cone
the last weeks of April, July, best drunk straight from the rises through the middle of the
and October. barrel, but it is also worth store, reflecting the interiors of
looking out for the bottled the stores.
beers that are rarely seen Another very popular store
Regional Specialties
outside Germany. is Karstadt on the Kurfürsten-
Almost every state in Germany There are a number of fine damm. Although its range of
produces its own regional German wines, especially those goods is not as broad as that at
specialty and although you from vineyards in the Mosel and Galeries Lafayette, there is still
might not be able to take Rhine valleys. Excellent wines an enormous choice and its
certain fresh foods back home, are also produced in Bavaria top-floor restaurant offers
you could try them while you and Baden-Württemberg. excellent views over the city.
are visiting. For example, Lübeck Various types of spirits, as well New shopping malls are
is known for marzipan, while as herbal and root-flavored being opened all the time,
Nuremberg is synonymous with liqueurs and bitters, are usually situated conveniently
gingerbread. The Spreewald produced on a large scale. If you close to S-Bahn stations.
region is known for its pickled visit a monastery, you may be Passagen (arcades) are massive
cucumbers, while you’ll find the able to buy a bottle of a herbal three-level structures,
cherry jam produced in the infusion or a liqueur that is resembling huge arcaded
Black Forest region is excellent. made to a centuries-old recipe. passageways, which contain

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